Business Email Etiquette

Business email etiquette are of utmost importance when it comes to the activity of conveying information or making formal requests. A single email can make way for your successful future endeavors or rule out the scope of any business with the recipient.

The level of professionalism and courtesy shown in the business emails leave a lasting impression, and have a positive effect on the business. The benefits of confident looks and impressive body language are of course not applicable while using the email service for business, but the level of profits you can make is nevertheless the same.

The Subject Field
The subject title should be kept short and precise and the use of loud words (all CAPS) should be avoided. Loud words may result the email to get filtered as spam, nullifying the efforts of the sender. In most of the cases, the subject line decides whether the mail will be opened or not. You should feel free to modify the subject line while replying, during the course of an ongoing email conversation. Basic business email etiquette includes usage of a subject which is meaningful to the recipient as well as the sender.

The TO and FROM Field
Both the sender's and recipient's names should be typed in formally and the letter casing should be done properly. Business emails are in no way supposed to give a casual look, and the receiving end always expects a level of professional ethics to be followed, even for the smallest issues possible. Disclaimers should also be added in order to avoid discrepancies and also to protect the sending company or individual, from liability.

The Cc and Bcc Field
Cc stands for the Carbon copy field and refers to the addresses to which we want to send a copy of the mail, besides the recipient. In this case, the recipient knows that other people are receiving a copy of the email received by him. Bcc, which stands for Blind Carbon copy, is particularly useful when the sender doesn't want to disclose the fact to the recipient, that other people are also receiving a copy of the email. The people included in the Cc filed should know why they are receiving a copy, and the copy of mails should never be sent without their knowledge and consent.

Body of the Mail
By their basic nature, emails are assumed to be informal by many people. This should be avoided while writing business emails, in order to frame the email's tone in a professional way. The font type should always be kept normal and the font size should not be very large. Large font size leaves a negative impression on the recipient, even if done for commercial gain. The body window of an email should always be treated as the company's letterhead, imprudent handling of which may lead to serious consequences for its brand name and market value. The spellings, grammar and punctuations should be taken care of and an active voice, instead of passive, should be preferred while writing business emails. The grammatical errors and missing punctuation marks may leave a bad imprint on the recipient's mind.

Signature and Attachments
A signature file should ideally be 4-5 lines stating the sender's name, his Company's name, company's website, contact number and a few other details. Longer signature files create an impression of unnecessary exaggeration. This file should be stored in text format on the system in order to avoid typing the details again and again. Only the attachments pertaining to the subject of the mail should be made. Lengthy attachments sometimes result in the email landing in the junk-mailbox, thus devoid the sole purpose of business.

All business emails should be written under the strict domain of formal English language. The sender should be polite towards the recipient, giving him a good feeling of courtesy and professionalism. Business email etiquette, if followed seriously, can help in making new professional relations and solidifying the existing ones.